“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Lao Tzu

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Local Pride

In each of the cities we visited in China, there were different things that stirred pride in the inhabitants. A lot of this pride stemmed from their past. The cities held different parts of China’s past, and the people in these cities were proud of these events and locations.

In Beijing we visited the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Great Wall of China. There were a significant number of Chinese visiting these sites. The Great Wall of China seemed to be the site people were most proud of in Beijing. Although it is outside of the city, people would always ask if we had been to see it when we were out. We visited the Badaling section of the Great Wall. This is the most visited section. The people seemed to know the history of these sites, and seemed interested in sharing this history with each other and with foreigners.

At the Great Wall of China.

In Hangzhou we saw the West Lake, the Six-Harmony Pagoda, and Lingyin Temple. The

Believers bringing in fruit.

Lingyin Temple had the most people, and is still in use as a religious site, even with the tourist that come. Pictures were not allowed to be taken inside the temples as people still come there to pray. While at Lingyin Temple we witnessed Buddhists come to the temple carrying fruits and other items to leave as offerings.
There is one building where pictures can be taken, and that was in the Hall of 500 Arhats. An Arhat is someone who has obtained nirvana. Each Arhat was different and named. People were walking around bowing and thanking different Arhats. It was exciting to see the reverence and pride the people had for the site.

Inside the Hall of 500 Arhats.

We were only in Nanjing for a short time, so we did not see much of the city or the historic places there. However during a tea ceremony we were shown a short video about the city. The video talks about the historic aspects of the city and how this has been merged with the new modern style. This was a theme all over China. They are proud of and respect their history. They are also moving forward and making amazing use of the technology available to them.